There are many clinics in this city, and we’re honored to have been nominated, so thank you to who ever put our name forward! While a LOT of our patients are kind enough to say we’re the best physiotherapy clinic in Ottawa, we’re not about to make that claim ourselves. We’ll admit to our commitment to helping our patients live their lives pain-free. We’ll own up to operating our clinics with integrity, to being professional but maintaining a relaxed atmosphere. We’ll even confess to being much more than just a physiotherapy clinic with massages therapy, dietitian services, sports evaluations, custom orthotics, bike fittings, custom knee bracing…the list goes on. The BEST clinic though…? If you think so, go and vote! Vote! Vote!

Your mother always told you not to stare at a screen for too long because it’d ruin your eyes. Turns out it’s doing a lot more than that. As people are using more screen-based technology (computers, smart phones, tablets, etc.), health professionals are seeing an increase in problems like headaches, neck pain, back pain, and even pain felt the face. Not good.

Why exactly are these gadgets causing a problem? People’s posture is often horrible while they use them. Heads forward, eyes cast down, shoulders forward – these can all spell bad news. Staring at a screen often takes your head off the vertical, bending it forward up to 45° – moving your head forward just an inch increases the pressure on your neck by 10 pounds. Sitting with your shoulders forward causes tightness in both the pectoral and back muscles – itcan also compress the veins and nerves of the arms which increases the chances of problems like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Getting rid of technology isn’t going to happen, so what can you do? Seeing a massage therapist can help with tightness and pain. To really fix the problem though, you’ll need to actively work on your posture. Stretches and exercises to strengthen your muscles are essential and here’s a great video series to get you started.

If you’re looking for solutions specific to your posture and mobility, give us a call and any of our physiotherapists can help find the exercises that will work best for you.